Promoted up but also out? The unintended consequences of increasing women's representation in managerial roles in engineering

摘要

Occupational segregation refers to the division and hierarchy of labor based on workers' demographic characteristics. The article focuses on occupational segregation especially in terms of gender in United States. It is observed that in sex segregated occupations, women represent 15% in engineering. They are lesser in terms of entry in an engineering career or in pipeline or comparatively exit more than male counterparts. While the literature suggests that increased women representation in managerial positions may foster intra-occupational segregation, the article therefore posits that moving women into managerial roles in engineering firms may foster a form of that has unintended, and mostly negative, consequences for female engineers. A qualitative study based on the semi structured interviews of 61 engineers (35 female, 26 male) showed that organizations reinforce women's movement into managerial roles and thereby bring about mixed identification with engineering, reinforcing stereotypes about women's suitability for technical work, and posing work-life balance tensions. The analysis also showed that an inverted role hierarchy in engineering appears to explain both women's positioning in managerial roles. (111 refs.)